Nine Glencoe Students to Compete in International Thespian Festival at University of Nebraska in Lincoln, Nebraska

2011 State Thespian Competition Winner Glencoe's First Time to Lincoln; Student Fundraising Aided by Bag&Baggage Productions

The annual Thespian Festival at the University of Nebraska (June 20 - 25), organized by the International Thespian Society, is the premiere event on the U.S. high school theatre calendar. The week showcases great high school performances on four stages, and offers a wealth of learning opportunities for students and educators in workshops and master classes, a student leadership program, and auditions for college admission and Thespian scholarships.

Three Glencoe actors and six technicians from the school's theatre club will represent Oregon. Actors Rebecca Baugh, Dominique Francis, and Kate Zagone will compete performing a one act play entitled "Triangle" (which won first place in the One Act category at the Oregon State Thespian Competition).

Four Glencoe theatre technicians, JC Leyson, Miranda Leyson, Megan Nishida, and Anni Reilly, won the Oregon State Thespian Technical Olympics and will represent Oregon in the technical categories at the national festival. Glencoe students Alex Bird and Arielle Ems will join them to round out the tech team. Several of the students will also audition for colleges and scholarships with monologue performances and tech portfolios, which will be presented in the festival's National Individual Events Showcase.

2011 is Glencoe's first year at the national festival. Lori Daliposon, Glencoe theatre teacher and troupe director, says,“Our Glencoe High theatre troupe just started competing at the regional Thespian competition four years ago, and you have to win there to advance to State. This year was only the second time we'd competed at State, and we didn't realize until we won in March that we'd have the opportunity for nine students to go to Nationals...so financially, we were somewhat unprepared. We drained the theatre fund just to register our students, and starting raising money. We had a little over two months, and hoped to raise about $11,000.”

Four Glencoe theatre students, Susan Zinno, JC Leyson, Anni Reilly, and Matthew Kishlock, have interned at Bag&Baggage in the last two years, and asked the professional theatre company's help in raising funds for the trip. Bag&Baggage arranged for space in the lobby of the Venetian Theatre for team members and parents to solicit donations during performances of "The Mystery of Irma Vep," which was well-reviewed and drew sizable audiences.

“Our minimum goal was $8500,” says Daliposon, “and with the opportunity to reach Bag&Baggage's theatre-savvy audiences, we overshot that. We're still hoping to raise a bit more to reimburse the theatre fund, but the troupe's expenses are covered. What the kids really appreciated about being in the lobby for the “Irma Vep” performances was the chance to let people know that a local high school theatre troupe is doing really, really well, and has won the right to represent the whole state at the national level. Bag&Baggage audiences get that, and they're very supportive."

“We really believe in the power of theatre to affect students' lives,” says Scott Palmer, founder and artistic director of Bag&Baggage. “We run a TEN4ONE education program that provides free theatre tickets to hundreds of high school students. We have Glencoe students intern with us for every production - several of the students going to Nationals interned with us - and we love showing them that theatre can be a way to make a living. We are always willing to help the students achieve their theatre dreams, and we hope to see them back with us as professionals in the future.”

To contribute to the Glencoe theatre fund:
By check: Write a check to Glencoe High School and send it to Glencoe High School, 2700 NW Glencoe Road, Hillsboro, OR 97124. In the memo line, please write “Internationals.” All donations are tax deductible.